


A Drop of Bourbon

by LadyAnput



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Bashing, Alya Césaire Bashing, Explicit Language, F/F, F/M, Lila Rossi Bashing, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-19
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-02-13 13:03:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21494749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyAnput/pseuds/LadyAnput
Summary: A recent akumatization makes everyone confront their deepest faults and weaknesses.
Comments: 31
Kudos: 456





	1. Marinette

**Author's Note:**

> So this is basically just a series of chapters about ranting all of my salt towards the show as of late. Just for funsies.

Something didn't feel right, Marinette was sure of that. She was in a white room, alone. It was empty, save for a pair of chairs and a small table. As she moved forward, she realized her footsteps weren't making noises. She clapped her hands to test her theory out, and was horrified that that didn't make a single sound. Was this the work of an akuma?

"Marinette, please, have a seat."

The sound of the voice sent chills down her spine. The young woman turned to see Evangeline. But at the same time it wasn't her. She was devoid of colour, her skin to her hair an eerie white, even down to the flowing dress she was wearing, save for the two golden clasps that kept the dress up. But when meeting her eyes, Marinette felt her gut curl with dread. They were completely purple. No pupil, no white to the eye. Just two swirls of intense purple.

"Eva…? What's going on? You've been akumatized, haven't you?" Marinette reached out, her eyes frantically trying to see if she could find the akumatized object, but she didn't see anything on the woman. "You can fight it, Eva, I know you can."

"I am not Eva, I am Veritas." The akuma said calmly, far too calmly. It made Marinette's skin crawl. With a hand that Marinette now noticed was tipped with long, razor sharp nails, the akuma motioned to the seats. "Please, sugar cookie, sit. All I want to do is talk, then I will let you go. Once I am done talking, I will give Ladybug my akumatized item willingly."

Now this terrified Marinette. This akuma was so calm, so collected! And she certainly didn't look like the usual akumas from Hawkmoth, she was so muted and bland… She was just so used to akumas that went out of their way to cause havoc, yet this one only wanted to talk?

Reluctantly, Marinette sat. With a smile, Veritas sat in the other seat. She reached out and set her hand over Marinette's. 

"You're a sweet girl, Marinette, but you do have your faults. Not as many as your classmates, but you still have faults. You're far too nice, Marinette, you put too much trust in everyone, and even when you get hurt, you try to please them."

"What's wrong with being nice?" Marinette shot out before she could stop herself, then promptly slapped a hand over her mouth, terrified. Veritas merely smiled.

"Because you go beyond kindness, Mari. You do everyone all of these favours. You make your friends dresses for free, using up valuable work time and hundreds worth of materials. You make your friends cakes and treats and never charge them. Your poor parents must be losing a fair bit of money off of that."

"What's wrong with helping out my friends?" Marinette felt herself tearing up, her hands clenched into fists. "I want to make them happy, to make them smile. I care about them."

"Yes, but they soon expect everything of you. They always expect those cakes, those free dresses. What about the free babysitting you've been forced to do on several occasions?" Veritas reached up and, with one or those long claws, made a small tear in the air, a scene soon being played before them. 

A scene of Marinette chasing after Nino's and Alya's little siblings, as well as Manon, the children tearing through her room, through her worktable. Marinette felt herself wince at the memory of that day. The children had managed to rip up a rough design she had done up. 

"Marinette, you spend more time thinking about others than yourself."

"I… I guess I do." As much as Marinette wanted to transform and take down this akuma, she knew she needed to hear these words. She needed to face this truth. "But, they're my friends…"

"Friends? Are you so sure? Which of your classmates are supposed to be your friend? The supposed reporter who ate down Lila's lies like I would a delicious slice of cheesecake? Or your childhood friend who'd rather take the side of the girl he's currently banging than a girl he's known for years?" Veritas snorted and shook her head, standing and making a larger tear, showing the class glaring Marinette down as she tried to call Lila out on a rather scandalous lies. They all didn't give her time to even speak her piece. 

"Oh! How about the boy you say you're in love with? The one that keeps saying 'you're just a friend'? The one that Alya told you were stalking him by having his schedule on your wall and having his pictures plastered on your bedroom wall? The boy who is so obsessed with Ladybug that he never looks at a real girl?"

Marinette felt the tears sliding down her cheeks, her nose red and she felt embarrassed as she wiped it with her sleeve. But she tensed when Vertias cupped her face, when she felt a claw tap against one of her earrings.

"It must hurt so much… To have the boy you love, love you, but never for yourself. The girl he's so in love with is right in front of him, yet he ignores her for her. How sad. How pathetic."

"What…?" The panic settled in once again as Marinette stared at the akuma. She knew… She  _ KNEW _ . She knew she was Ladybug. Did Hawkmoth know?! Was this the end of her?

"Oh sugar cookie… I won't tell. I'd never let a man who nearly dressed me up like a gaudy Greek goddess know who you are. I care too much to let that happen." Veritas hummed, and took a step back. Her long gown flowed around her, never seeming to stop. "I think I've tortured you enough, sugar cookie. I'll let you go now."

"Great! Then we can go and purify the akumatized object you have! Just give it to me and we can go!" Marinette was on her feet in seconds and reached out for Veritas. But froze at the confused smile on the akuma's face.

"I'm not giving you my akuma yet, sugar cookie."

"But… But you said that you would when you were done."

Vertias tilted her head, and her smile grew wide.

"Whoever said I was done? I still have a whole bunch of people to go through."

"No… No!" Marinette felt dread curdle in her gut and she sprinted towards the akuma. But in a flash of white, she was in her homeroom class. Alone. All alone.

"What the hell is she going to do?" She whispered, dropping to her knees with Tikki flying out of her purse to wipe away the falling tears.


	2. The Class

Juleka's eyes snapped open and she sat up abruptly, looking around frantically. Relief swamped her when she saw Rose was curled up beside her, passed out. Glancing around the room, she took note that her class was scattered around the room, save for Lila, Alya, Nino, Adrien, Chloé, and Marinette. 

"Where are we?" Mylène squeaked out as she clung to Ivan, visibly shaken. Many of the students stood and began looking around the room, trying to find a possible exit. But there wasn't anything, just white walls, white floor, and white ceiling. A void.

"I deduce that this is being caused by an akuma." Max adjusted his glasses as he stood, then glanced around, frowning as mild panic began to set in. "Has anyone seen Markov?"

"Do not worry, Markov is fine. And you'll all be fine, as long as you keep your mouths shut." Veritas appeared, seated in a chair that hadn't been there before. Rose let out a scream and hid behind Juleka. The rest of the class were on their feet in an instant, their bodies in defensive positions.

"You?! What the hell did you do to us?" Alix snarled, puffing out her chest as she strode over to the akuma. But her bravado lessened when Veritas stood and met her gaze. Those eyes… They were terrifying. 

"I didn't do anything, at least, not yet. Unless you cause trouble, you all can leave and I can move on without worry." She spoke and moved one of her long hands sharply. All of the students found themselves sitting on chairs. "I am here to lead you blind, dumb sheep away from the wolf's jaws."

"Who are you calling sheep?" Kim snarled, his hands curled into fists, but he jolted back when the akuma appeared mere inches from his face, his vision full of white and two piercing spots of purple.

"You honestly annoy me, Kim. You're very cocky and overconfident, but I guess most of your classmates are. The egos are far too large, the spoiled nature almost chokes me every time I come across it. You even bully on occasion, but I guess that's to hide your fragile ego, your fear of rejection and humiliation." Veritas cupped Kim's face in her cold hands, a gentle smile on her face. "You're quite dim, but you have a charm to you. But that doesn't excuse you for abandoning Marinette."

"W- what?" Kim whispered, turning to watch her wander over to Max. Her claws grazed over his cheek ever so slightly.

"You know, Max… For the supposed genius of the class, you're quite stupid. You created Markov, yet you believe the lies that a napkin would possibly blind you. Or you keep falling for Lila's tales, despite being the smart one, you should be the one to see through the lies, instead of hurting Marinette."

"Lila isn't a liar! She's a works class traveller, someone with all of the tight connections. You're just jealous because you're some Canadian woman who lives such a sad life that she resorts to terrorizing lycée students." Sabrina hissed out, now clinging to Alix's arm.

"Oh shush, Sabrina, you have no room to make accusations. Honestly, I'm surprised you can actually form a cognitive thought without Lila or Chloé putting it in there." Veritas grabbed her by the chin and grinned, then turned to Alix and tugged at her one pigtail. "And you, Alix, you really need to learn to think first, so quick to rush in, such a reckless and hot headed girl. But I don't have much ire towards you, I find."

"Leave her alone." Veritas felt herself being grabbed by Ivan and shoved back. That only made her grin widen as she eyed him and his girlfriend who was cowering behind him.

"Oh Ivan… The mountain with a heart of gold, and his little Mylène, who is scared of her own shadow. I can't really fault you both, except for your disgraceful way in how you handle your friendships."

"Why are we here?!" Rose's voice rose to a shrill note, she just couldn't take being in this room without any exits, being trapped with this… thing. Juleka held her girlfriend closer, tensing when the akuma drew near and patted Rose's head.

"Sweet Rose, so kind and gentle, you remind me so much of a Disney princess. To the point where it sickens me, actually." The akuma tapped Rose's forehead gently with one of those sharp nails of hers. "Honestly, you seem to actively refuse to see the real world, believing in fairytales and make believe. I can see it wouldn't be too hard for Lila to get you tangled up in her web."

"And dearest Juleka.." The way the akuma said her name made Juleka's skin crawl, so did it when those long nails brushed her bangs from her face, making her feel so naked. "You're a really pretty girl, it absolutely breaks my heart that you don't see it. I know you're smart, but you just refuse to see the truth. But about yourself and about Lila. Poor Marinette didn't deserve all of what your class did to her."

"Are we here because of Marinette's over reactions to Lila's stories? Are you serious, she's just jealous because Lila has a better chance with Adrien." Kim scoffed, totally not sounding bitter in the least about Lila's attentions to another. He seemed to have a thing for bullies.

"You're here because of yourselves. Because you refuse to face your flaws. Such things will destroy you in the end." Veritas made them all sit again, then began making large tears in the air. Scenes began to play out; such as the first day Lila came back from her travels 'abroad', or when Marinette hadn't brought a cake for Lila's birthday and everything had shouted at her. 

"Tell me what's wrong with these scenes and I'll let you go." Veritas took a seat, watching them all carefully with those unsettling eyes of hers.

The students were quiet for a long time, before Rose shakily raised her hand, tears brimming in those large, innocent eyes of hers.

"Was it that we didn't ask Marinette her opinion on switching seats?" She whispered, her free hand tightening its grip on Juleka's arm.

"Very good." Veritas' voice lowered to an approving purr before she leaned closer, her grin widening. "What else?"

"... We got mad at Marinette for no reason. She wasn't trying to be rude, she was put off by the change that was made without her input." Juleka muttered, wrapping her arm around her girlfriend to hold her closer.

"So you're not all as stupid as I thought." Veritas stepped closer, and Rose began weeping when she gazed into the akuma's eyes. "You all lost a friend, because you chose to believe in fairytales."

"You're all such fools."

Then Veritas struck out and tore open the air in many locations, the class suddenly being assaulted by the times they were rude to Marinette, the times they had purposefully left her out of group outings, the times they had dumped a dress commission or a needed cake on her very last minute. And it just got worse and worse, until they saw the girl curled up in her rooms, sobbing as they heard Alya screeching something through the girl's cell.

"You all had better drop onto your knees and beg for her forgiveness." Veritas roughly grabbed Kim's chin, leaving him trembling. "I mean, most of you have known Marinette for so long, surely she'll forgive you, even if you completely dismissed her when she didn't start to suit your needs."

They didn't say anything as the akuma began walking between them, her footsteps silent.

"Honestly, I am trying my hardest to see the good in all of you, I really am. But a class full of naive kids who enabled not one but two bullies to go after Marinette, that's just sad, it's pitiful, it's disgusting." With a wave of her hand, the tears closed and many of the students watched her with teary eyes. She merely smiled. "I shall enjoy watching you all grovel at Marinette's feet when we are done."

And with another wave if her hand, they found themselves sprawled all over their classroom, the sudden burst of colour making many of them flinch. They all exchanged glances when they realized… No one else was anywhere to be seen.


	3. Caline Bustier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miss Bustier is faced with someone who just is not putting up with her excuses.

Caline awoke to feeling as if she had been hit over the head with a steel pipe. Her head throbbed with pain and she grit her teeth ever so slightly as she sat up. The teacher sat up slowly, then took in her bleak surroundings. A white room, with no furniture, nothing.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" She called out as she groggily got to her feet, massaging her temples to try and calm down the throbbing pain in her skull.

"Well, Caline, I can't say I'm surprised that you're one of the last ones to wake up." The voice caused Caline's head to snap in its direction, seeing Veritas seated in a chair that certainly hadn't been there before.

"Who are you, what have you done to my students?!" The teacher took a step forward, but froze in place when the akuma held up a hand, the sight of those long sharp nails causing Caline to rethink a few things.

"Your students are safe, though every part of me wishes that I could dangle a few of them over a crevasse.” The akuma gave a smile, one so bleak that it sent a shiver up Caline’s spine. “Sit. I wish to talk.”

Caline eyed the chair that certainly hadn't been there before, then hesitantly took a seat, folding her hands neatly on her lap.

“What is it exactly that you want with me? Did I do something to you personally? I don’t see my students having done anything, they’re good kids, so please, if you have any grievances, let me deal with them.” Caline begged to the akuma, who merely smiled that bland smile once again.

‘Caline, you and I both know that you do not possess the spine to deal with anything. You’re a rather lazy teacher, if I may add." The akuma purred out the words, using a hand to cup Caline's chin, one of her sharp nails tagging the corner of Caline's eye.

"Wait.. Evangeline? What happened, why did you get akumatized?!" Caline's eyes widened as she stared into those purple eyes. "I mean, what happened? Surely, it was a misunderstanding."

"Little things building up over time." Verita gave her cheek another tap. "Lila, Alya, the rest of those delinquents you call students. Well, Rose isn't too bad, neither is Juleka. But, my goodness, you're a pathetic teacher. You let them run like rabid dogs, in fear of akumatizing them."

"Evangeline, remember what I've said, you need to be an example for your students, to help them become better. This.. This isn't going to fix anything, it's only going to make things worse, you need to think of all the other Evangelines in the world." Caline grasped her wrist, giving it a light squeeze.

Those purple eyes shimmered as her smile grew, but it did nothing to settle Caline's words. No, it only worsened them. 

"You naive little bitch. You don't punish anyone, Caline, you know Lila is lying, you know Alya and the others have been ignoring Marinette, have been taken in by Lila's lies." Veritas' hand slid from her face to her neck, the grip tightening slightly. "You are supposed to help your students, to help them grow, to become better people. Sure, you can't help every single student, but this is your entire class, Caline. Save for Rose, she's working with charity, or Adrien, that silver spooned boy will end up inheriting the Gabriel brand, so I guess you'll be famous, hm? Being known as the teacher to so many famous students. I think that's why you don't cause much of a stir, because you see how 'famous', your students will be. The famous model, Nino possibly being the famous filmmaker and musician, Rose is working with many charities, Alya is aiming to be a famous reporter, Kim an Olympic swimmer, Max an inventor and genius." The hand tightened around Caline's throat, making her gasp softly. "Marinette as the famous designer. I mean, it's not like you've been gaslighting your students, when someone does them wrong."

"You don't know my students like I do. I've stopped them from becoming akumas thanks to my exercises, they're doing so well, they're getting so many opportunities now.."

"Opportunities from Lila? Surely you don’t actually buy into that stuff that she sprouts, Caline, you know she’s a liar, yet you let her get away with all of her schemes.” Veritas leaned close, so that they were nose to nose. “You are a spineless coward, Caline. You do not deserve your teaching license.”

Veritas’ voice did not fluctuate, not once. It remained that flat, even tone that sounded so bored with what was going on around her. Yet those eyes of hers held onto Caline, as if staring into her very soul. 

“Do you remember that day, your birthday, where Marinette poured her heart and soul into a purse she handmade just for you? Remember how Chloé decided to ruin that purse, because she didn’t have the common decency to remember your birthday and get you a gift?” The hand left Caline’s throat, the akuma taking a step back and slashing a nail across the air. The scene of Marinette’s outrage was in full sight, as well as Bustier’s answer of how she would cherish the purse and think of both girls anytime she used it.

“You spit right back in Marinette’s face when you did that. And then the schools had you dragged the next five years with them as their homeroom teacher, because nobody else wanted to even be associated with that class as their homeroom. They are now in their last year of lycée, Caline, and they’re rabid fucking dogs, who will get nowhere in life. You know that comic Nathaniel and Marc Anciel were working on? Thanks to Lila, he broke off from Marc, the poor boy, now Nathaniel is working on this big comic, without a fucking writer, with Lila promising him that she found him a company in New York who wants to feature his work.”

Caline stood, then stumbled back when Veritas stepped forward, tearing scenes into the air as she went, showing Caline the tears of her students as they faced disappointment after disappointment with Lila, Marinette’s tears as she was abandoned by all of her friends, every single akumatizations of her students, so many akumatizations…

“Your entire class is known as the Akuma class at the school, Caline. You wonder why I favour Marinette, why I try my hardest to protect her? I love her, she is the only family I have. You stand by and let her and others like her get hurt, be forced to swallow down their feelings and avoid any conflict, because you’re scared of an akuma. Think hard about this, Caline; what do you think Marinette as an akuma would be like?”

When Caline really thought about it, ice shot up her spine.

“You, Lila Rossi, Chloé.. You’re all really good at making akumas, aren’t you? At dragging people to their lowest. You know, you probably wouldn’t have been akumatized if you had punished Chloé properly and hadn’t gaslit Marinette about being so rightfully angry.” When Bustier tripped and fell onto her back, her eyes widened as Veritas loomed over her, tears now beginning to flow from Bustier’s eyes. “Perhaps I should rip the spine from your back. You certainly won’t be using it.” 

“No!” Caline squeezed her eyes shut and held her hands out to shield herself. 

There was suddenly a long stretch of silence, the cries and screams stopping abruptly. 

Caline hesitantly opened her eyes, then glanced frantically around. Her mouth dried up when she saw her students scattered around the classroom, some sobbing, some sitting and scarily silent. 

“Miss Bustier, you’re okay!” Kim rushed over and helped the shaky teacher to her feet. “We were afraid that the akuma got you too.”

“That was crazy..” Nino muttered, eyeing over where Juleka had her arm wrapped around a hysterical Rose. “Kind of scary too.”

“I thought she was going to kill us!” Mylène wailed out as she clung to Ivan’s shirt, her eyes filled with fat tears, as her boyfriend stroked her back in an attempt to soothe her.

Caline looked at her students, her lovely dependable students. 

Evangeline was wrong, she was an amazing teacher. When Ladybug would finally beat her, Caline swore to be there, waiting with open arms and a few easy lessons on how to be a better role model for the misguided and understood. 


End file.
